


Wasp and Rabbit: First Encounter

by phantomknights



Series: Stories from the Shore [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, OC, Original Clans (Warriors), Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-16 17:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18526621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomknights/pseuds/phantomknights
Summary: Two new leaders begin a relationship through their shared circumstances.





	Wasp and Rabbit: First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> a short story i dug up about two of my warrior cats OCs, that i'd written some months ago apparently, based on one of my drawings which i've included at the end of this story. a short allegiances section is in the notes at the bottom.
> 
>  
> 
> [more about my warriors OCs here](https://toyhou.se/wolfrayetlaw/characters/folder:343413)
> 
>  
> 
> takes place during the dull in-between after sequoia's occupation & before the rise of nightstar.

* * *

 

 

 _Swarmstar stood among the reeds and_ lifted his head to scent the air. The light of the full moon entirely engulfed his small figure, his fur flickering a silver and blue shine like fish scales just under the surface of water. The cattails cast their wiry shadows over him and his clan, drifting rhythmically with the calm breeze, as they came to a halt.

“Did you notice something, sir?” A tall cream she-cat padded up next to him, her long ears pricked and alert. Swarmstar shook his head. “No. We’re the first to arrive this time.” He craned his neck a bit to look up at his deputy, his blue eyes glinting with the moon’s reflection. She gave him a snort in apparent amusement, her lip curling into a sneer. “Think they’re all too scared of you to show up after last time?”

This would only be his second gathering as the leader of EucalyptusClan. The looks of utter surprise on the faces of the other clan cats, confused as to his seemingly out-of-the-blue rise to the rank of leader, were still fresh in his memory.

The overt distrust in Jaggedstar's snarling response, the covert distrust in Cicelystar's disapproving squint and tightened expression, and the confusion of Badgerstar as the three older leaders set their eyes on him under the moon that night. Swarmstar knew he was a suspicious character to these perceptive three, and had decided to roll with the punches despite the disadvantage it gave him, as well as the whole of EucalyptusClan…

But this wasn’t the time to be pondering past events, recent as they may be. He flicked his ears and turned away from his long-legged deputy. “Rosepool, I want you to take up the back of the patrol as we enter the island,” he addressed her matter-of-factly. “I doubt any cat would ambush us at a gathering, but it’s best to be safe.”

“Whatever you say.” Rosepool then turned on her haunches, casual expression on her long face, and headed to the back. Swarmstar lead his clan over one of the wooden human-made bridges, exercising extra caution as they left the cover of the underbrush, but gradually the cats of EucalyptusClan pooled into the ring of trees at the center of the island. Flintspark, the scruffy-looking medicine cat, ambled up beside Swarmstar while the others found places to lounge and wait.

He looked down at his small leader, brown eyes glowing like amber as a lazy smile spread over his broad face. “First here I guess,” he meowed, sounding bored. “Those slug-paws’d be best to not keep us waiting too long!” Swarmstar chuckled lightly at his words, giving him an acknowledging brush on the shoulders with his tail as he padded away in the direction of the ornate fountain at the center of the island. Humans had taken marble rock and carved it into intricate figures that resembled wild animals, some of them miraculously breathing water from their maws which tumbled into a wide shallow pool below them, the water somehow never overflowing, leading many to believe that they had been somehow enchanted. At gatherings, leaders would typically seat themselves on the dry heads or bodies of these stone beasts to better speak to the cats below.

Swarmstar hopped up onto the rim of the marble pool. As he did, he caught the scents of CypressClan and OliveClan drifting under the roof of his mouth, the two close-knit clans entering from the south bridge together. _Hm. Suppose I really wasn’t much of a scare for them after all…_ The young leader took his place atop the head of what resembled a great white horse, to allow him to better survey the newly arriving patrols. As they crossed from the shade into the realm of the moon’s light, he took note of Badgerstar's signature weary eyes, sunken into his broad head while the rest of CypressClan seemed healthy and able. His daughter, the greenhorn apprentice Nightpaw, was with him again; black fur rendering her almost invisible in the darkness if not for her large yellow eyes, curiously watching the cats on the island. To his right, Cicelystar of OliveClan seemed inscrutable as always, her horde of medicine cats seeming rather fidgety, but otherwise unified behind their elderly leader. Swarmstar squinted a little as he watched them, and gave both cats a friendly smile and a curl of his tail-tip as they turned their eyes up to him.

“StarClan seem to be peaceable tonight,” Swarmstar began in a friendly tone, throwing his voice a little so they could hear him over the rolling water. “Not a single cloud in the sky. It’s almost like the moon shines with all the sun’s fire, no?”

Badgerstar gave him a tired, amicable glance as he nodded in response. “Yes, indeed… StarClan are calm for now.” he hoisted himself up onto the marble with his short legs, hopping onto the back of what appeared to be a stone turtle. Cicelystar had branched off the path to the marble pool, now taking her time to pad around the clearing to say her hellos to the other clan cats she knew. The old OliveClan leader eyed Swarmstar with more suspicion than her CypressClan peer, cloaking her true thoughts but relaying them to Swarmstar with her facial expressions, but he maintained his friendly air as she finally approached.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard from MarbleClan… Swarmstar?” She sat on the edge of the pool as she spoke, keeping her distance from the small tom still sat atop the stone horse. He cocked his head. “No. Has there been something wrong with them?” Cicelystar gave him a confused look at first, but then turned her head away with a sigh. “I suppose you’ve been very busy yourself, what with all the baggage of becoming a new leader… But EucalyptusClan shares a closer border and proximity with their camp than OliveClan does,” She slowly turned her gaze skyward as she paused. “I was hoping you’d at least encountered a patrol.”

Rosepool then appeared, trotting along the marble rim of the pool now. She headed towards the deputy spot at the front but stopped as she overheard their conversation, catching the OliveClan leader’s attention as she stood nearby her. “Huh. We haven’t seen any MarbleClan patrols this past moon, Cicelystar.” Rosepool chewed her lip a little, looking befuddled. “I do suppose that’s strange. Maybe they got wiped out by a disease?”

Cicelystar's normally half-lidded blue eyes widened slightly or a moment, the fur between her shoulders bristling. “No,” she breathed. “Jaggedstar would have sent for help. He is not so mouse-brained that he would allow MarbleClan to struggle alone...” In her obvious concern, she hopped over the water to land next to Badgerstar, striking up a hushed conversation with him about MarbleClan's whereabouts instead. Rosepool looked up to Swarmstar, an expression of _oh well, I tried_ on her face, and gave him a shrug, Swarmstar blinking in response before he glanced at the other two leaders speaking quietly together below him. _Not my business if none of them came to me…_

The moon had drifted across the sky. Some moments had passed as the clan cats had all gathered at their designated spots around the fountain. Many of them were restless from the presence of only three clans. Just as Swarmstar was about to announce their assumed absence, he could taste something on the air. The flavor of dry rock and… something else?

The atmosphere began to change. He could definitely smell MarbleClan now, making out their shapes through the surrounding trees as they neared the bridge. Cicelystar saw fit to leap from her perch and head towards the patrol at a brisk pace, worry and relief dancing off of her fur like static electricity. Swarmstar couldn’t make out the other scent though. Loner? Rogue?

An audible gasp from OliveClan’s old leader drew his gaze to what lead the new arrivals to the gathering. MarbleClan was being led in by a strange tomcat, striped like a tabby but resembling a hulking lion, mangled and covered in utterly brutal scarring. Swarmstar's eyes rounded out in surprise like little moons, unable to hide his fascination. This was not Jaggedstar, and it wasn’t his deputy. Neither cat seemed to be in sight, so who was this beast in their place? He barely smelled of MarbleClan.

He couldn’t make out what Paleclaw, the elderly MarbleClan medicine cat, spoke to Cicelystar. The ancient OliveClan she-cat seemed rattled, but she regained her composure and found her way back to her perch on the fountain. Murmurs had erupted all around from the others, worried and curious just as Swarmstar was, though he had to admit he didn’t hold much attachment to Jaggedstar or his deputy.

The huge scarred tomcat didn’t seem to know where to go, so he made his way around to the front of the fountain, in the middle of the deputies, much to their confusion as they inched away from him slightly.

“Cats of the clans,” The stranger boomed above the chatter with a deep roaring voice befitting of his lion-like appearance, reining in the attention of most. Paleclaw walked around to sit in front of him, gaze aimed down at her front paws. “Jaggedstar is not here. Nor is his deputy, Reednose… I have come in their stead.” He spoke formally, yet as if to imply that he was familiar with the two toms. “Both of them have been slain,”

Some cats began to hiss all around the crowd. Swarmstar recognized the CypressClan warrior, Eaglefeather, bristling as he yowled in the stranger’s direction. “And what did you do with them, rogue!?”

A few other cats yowled in agreement, turning some bloodthirsty expressions his way. The great tom only sat like a sentinel as he stared around the island with his one good eye, stony, but Swarmstar could still catch hints of true remorse in the stranger’s furrowed brow as he turned his great head to the side for a moment.

“I tried to save them. I came to your forest and saw their clan under siege by a pack of dogs.” The other MarbleClan cats had by now mixed among the others, their presence calming the uneasy masses as they quietly echoed the tom’s words back to them. “Reednose had been killed when I arrived. I helped to take care of the dogs, but Jaggedstar didn’t make it through the last encounter… he expressed his great trust in me with his dying words, so I am here tonight as the new leader of MarbleClan.”

Most cats were wide-eyed, completely unknowing that this happened right under their noses in the span of only a moon. _A whole pack of dogs?_ Swarmstar again cocked his head, staring at the stranger’s broad back from atop the marble horse. The small tom held a curious smirk on his face. _I’ll definitely have to see what I can find out._

“Jaggedstar had given me the warrior name Rabbitrun,” The giant tomcat began again. “But now I am known as Rabbitstar. Jaggedstar’s fortitude and trust have humbled me, so I can hope that the rest of you will believe and accept me among your ranks.” He bowed his huge head as he concluded; all the while being peered down upon by the former newest leader of the clans.

 

* * *

 

 _Rabbitstar sat beneath a great gnarled_ tree, alone at the back of the island. The clan leaders had given their status reports, as he did first, and had taken to the throngs of cats to mingle and share more personal news. He had no relationships with any of these cats outside of MarbleClan, and so he bided his time alone in the shade, finding it more respectful to avoid being an alarming presence to the other cats. The shadows of leaves rustling in the wind dappled his pelt, hiding him from the curious views of others, for the most part. They avoided him as predicted, speaking of him but not seeking him out, leaving Rabbitstar to simply observe them like a ghost. He had resigned to this, that is, until he felt a presence approaching him at a casual gait.

“Hello, Rabbitstar.”

The great tom turned his head slowly to see a small silver-and-black cat staring at him, round blue eyes glowing in the moonlight. Rabbitstar's eye narrowed as he observed the strange intricacy of his pelt, the small tomcat’s face split down the middle as if a shadow were cast upon him at all times. He stood daintily, just out of reach of the shade from the trees; his expression casual yet revealing no intention.

“…Good evening.” Rabbitstar's mew was more a low growl. This didn’t seem to perturb the small tom before him. _I don’t remember his name,_ though his face gave away nothing, Rabbitstar felt his skin prickle with a familiar warmth. _This is a little embarrassing._

“Are you okay sitting all by yourself?” The silver tom planted his little paws in the cool grass as he sat next to him. Rabbitstar again turned his head to look straight ahead, away from the smaller cat next to him. “I’m a stranger here.” He started. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk around as if I’m an old friend.”

The small tom let out a _mrrow_ of amusement. “Did StarClan grant you nine lives after their trials?” Rabbitstar nodded. The little cat still fixed his gaze on him. “Then you’re a clan cat now. You’re an authority over the whole of MarbleClan, given lives by their founding ancestor that you’d never met. On this island, under the full moon, you can go where you please, as long as you don’t betray StarClan’s law.”

Rabbitstar grumbled in response, unsure of what to say as he turned his head back to look at his new conversational partner. The small cat spoke up again. “I’m Swarmstar, of EucalyptusClan. Our main camps share a close border.” Rabbitstar simply nodded, making sure to very intentionally indent the silver tom's name into his memory. “Just last moon, I became my clan’s leader myself… We basically took the reins at the same time.”

“Really now?” The big brown tom couldn’t help his curiosity. Swarmstar seemed pleased by his interest. “Yeah. My former leader was also my twin brother, actually, and I was next in line after him… When I had told them this last gathering, the other clans gave me looks much like they gave you tonight.” Rabbitstar felt Swarmstar's tail trace along his great scarred flank like a snake coursing through grass, smooth and cold. “It's as if we’re both walking in each other's paws in this way, I think.”

Rabbitstar dipped his head in tacit agreement. He stretched his massive body out to lay down in the grass, Swarmstar still seated next to him. Rabbitstar tried to silently analyze the other tomcat as he turned his head back to look at him, maybe to sniff out his intentions, but only found his eye drawn to the intricate spotted pelt once again.

“I’ve never seen a cat with fur like yours.” Rabbitstar blurted unexpectedly.

“Hm?” Swarmstar's big eyes twinkled with levity. “Well I could say the same for you. You’re a real-life giant! And all those scars…” The silver cat boldly put a paw on Rabbitstar’s broad forearm, analyzing his markings in turn. “Are you a lion, or a tiger? Perhaps a lynx?”

Rabbitstar felt himself purr instinctively. “You’re very brave to be touching me like that.” He growled in response. Swarmstar seemed undaunted, sensing that the other leader was being playful, though he drew his paw back anyway. “Why, are you actually a new tyrant-in-wait planning to take over the forest? I don’t think any cat would mess with you, even in a group. It’d be a bloodbath.”

He felt Swarmstar put his small, dainty paw onto his great furred paw this time, pressing on his relaxed knuckles gently as if to try and squeeze his giant claws out to take a look at them. Rabbitstar felt bemused by the small tom’s eccentricity and boldness in addressing him, despite his small paw being the size of two of his toes. He found it refreshing among the sea of cats too scared to even look him in the eye.

“If you’re looking for some excitement there, I’m afraid not.” Rabbitstar looked out from the shade to the other groups gossiping around them, Swarmstar's paw still on his. “I have never killed another cat. I don’t plan to…”

This earned a cocked head and perplexed look from the silver tom.

“Well that’s surprising to me, if you don’t mind me saying.” Swarmstar meowed.

“No, you don’t have to circle around the topic. I have seen my reflection.” He referred not only to his hulking frame, but to his extreme scarring as well. Most of his left ear missing, one eye damaged into total blindness on the more torn-up side of his face. He was missing a toe on his back foot, had a crooked tail, and patches of furless scars varying in size strewn all across his legs and flanks, to such a degree that it was unusual of a typical warrior's battle scars.  
“So where did all those wounds come from?”  
“Dogs.” Rabbitstar stated plainly. “All of them. Dogs.”  
Swarmstar had stood up to pace around the larger tom. “Yes, I remember you said MarbleClan was attacked by dogs… right?”  
Rabbitstar shook his head slowly. “Yes, but these are old scars… it’s a long story.”  
“Well, we have time.” Swarmstar had wandered around to lay next to him, on the side where Rabbitstar's good eye was. When they made eye contact again, Rabbitstar noticed the other tom had a little fleck of gold in one of his eyes, another oddity piled onto the mystery of his strange appearance.

“You know what sharing tongues is?” Rabbitstar shook out of his thoughts again at his words. “It’s how we clan cats bond with each other at gatherings, regardless of what clan we’re from. We groom each other while we talk.” Rabbitstar looked down at him with a poker face. “I’ve not been told of that.”

“Well,” Swarmstar meowed as he maintained contact with the lone amber eye of the other leader, “may I groom you while I hear your long story, Rabbitstar?” The little tom purred, tail again brushing his flank, inviting and friendly. Rabbitstar sighed, though remained amicable to his small, curious peer. “I suppose I wouldn’t mind that.”

 

* * *

 

  
  
_Rabbitstar and Swarmstar speaking at the gathering. drawn by myself._

**Author's Note:**

> ### ALLEGIANCES
> 
>  **CYPRESSCLAN**  
>  LEADER  
> BADGERSTAR ― short stocky brown tomcat with amber eyes and no tail.  
> WARRIORS  
> EAGLEFEATHER ― big battle-scarred tomcat with brown-and-cream striped fur.  
> APPRENTICE, NIGHTPAW  
>  **EUCALYPTUSCLAN**  
>  LEADER  
> SWARMSTAR ― silver-and-black tomcat with intricate markings and blue eyes.  
> DEPUTY  
> ROSEPOOL ― pale cream she-cat with very long legs and dark brown eyes.  
> MEDICINE CAT  
> FLINTSPARK ― dark grey tomcat with large white patches and caramel eyes.
> 
>  **MARBLECLAN**  
>  LEADER  
> RABBITSTAR ― massive battle-scarred maine coon tomcat with long ears and one burning amber eye.  
> MEDICINE CAT  
> PALECLAW ― light grey she-cat with green eyes.
> 
>  **OLIVECLAN**  
>  LEADER  
> CICELYSTAR ― old pointed she-cat with plum-colored markings and blue eyes.


End file.
